Cons
1. Okay, the first thing that bothered me was the wording on the box, “a Vietnamese style recipe”. WTF IS THAT.

How hard is it to find/consult a Vietnamese chef, and have *them* sample the product, BEFORE it is mass produced!??!!?

2. It’s TOO SMALL. Before I microwaved this, there’s a rolled mass of rice noodles, that looks like it amounts to 1/4 cup.

As an Asian woman, I am offended. Noodles and rice are my life.

3. SOGGY VEGETABLES. Not only is the broth *terribly* underwhelming, no tang, no soul, no substance to it, THERE ARE VEGETABLES.

WHY.

If you go to a Vietnamese restaurant, any of them, even that one down the street that waters down their broth, there are no green onions/scallions, red bell peppers, grilled-ish onions, and *julienned carrots* in the bowl, EVER.

What they *do* give you is a plate, which is garnish, to help *accent/bring out* the flavors of/in the broth. Thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, occasionally cilantro, and lemon/limes slices. There’s also hoisin sauce, sriracha, and soy sauce on the table, but I’m going beyond my point.

4. Something that I almost missed was the cut of ‘beef’ including in this “bowl” of pho.

5-7 of over-cooked, fatty, 2-inch pieces of BLEEP. Not thinly cut steak, not brisket, not beef balls.
Just BLEEP.

The point is WHY IS THIS PRODUCT SO TERRIBLE!???

I associated Trader Joe’s with good quality food, and their Asian food has *seriously* been lacking that.

I don’t know when they stopped having taste testers, but I would like them to hire them back, particularly me, because not only do I need a job, *hint, hint, nudge, nudge*, I would my small amount of money allotted for food each month not to be wasted.